Mafell router motors?

[Crazyraceguy]

I have recently discovered that there is a 110v version of the FM1000 available in the US.
Does anyone have any experience with these?
I'm looking to add a tilting capability to a second router table. The Sauter OFL3.0 looks interesting, but it requires a 43mm mounting. That is a European standard that doesn't really fit here so well, so the routers that fit it are mostly 220v.

Other suggestions that I'm missing?

 

[greg mann]

It looks like this unit also uses a 43mm mount.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

Was there supposed to be a link? or pic?

 

[guybo]

Hi, also a few mounts on thing universe

 

[Crazyraceguy]

Those look like they are intended to mount the unit to a gantry for a CNC type application.
The mount isn't my problem though. I'm looking for other routers that will fit that type of mount or a recommendation on the Mafell.
Thank you for looking into it though

 

[WillAdams]

I've been using a 220V Mafell FM 1000 WS (the one w/ the quick change feature) for a while now and have been very pleased and impressed w/ it.

 

[mino]

Check the Metabo GE 710 Compact. In Europe they even sell a plunge base for it.

That said, the Maffel is the perfect fit for the Sauter lift. They basically made that lift around the capabilities of that router motor ..

Hard to say how the 110V version will be. I would expect less torque and a bit less durability form 2x the current.

But that is not what that motor is about - it is about the single-piece spindle and the double bearings which are the same as far as I gather.

 

[Mini Me]

Why not use a CNC water cooled spindle, that's what I did. Near silent and plenty of power with excellent stepless speed control via a VFD.

 

[Svar]

In addition to already mentioned, in US there are Fein spindle and Trend T4 router, both with 43 mm neck. Trend T4 is not a high quality machine, unfortunately.

 

[mino]

Why not use a CNC water cooled spindle, that's what I did. Near silent and plenty of power with excellent stepless speed control via a VFD.

That Maffel is actually a CNC spindle for small machines. Its main sell is being air-cooled while having the same size/weight as water cooled ones. They sell externally controlled versions of it over here, not sure how in the US.

 

[tsmi243]

Trend T4 is not a high quality machine, unfortunately.

My T4 is amazing.  Need a 16mm slot, but all you have are 15mm bits?  This baby can do it in a single pass.

 

[Michael Kellough]

A bit off topic but I have an old Freud router similar to the Trend T4. It’s not high quality either but the 43mm collar has allowed me to mount the thing in odd positions to solve some difficult milling challenges. The older Bosch trim routers also have a 43mm collar but aren’t variable speed.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

Well, it looks like they actually aren't available, even though they are shown in two different company's websites. Out of stock with no idea when/if they will ever get more.
It looks like if I continue with this plan, I'm going to have to use a 220v motor and get a transformer to step-up to a UK style plug.
There is at least one other motor, but it's only 800 watt and 1/4" (or 6mm) collet. That won't get it.

Anyone have a recommendation for transformers? [member=10147]jobsworth[/member], you came to the US from the UK didn't you? any experience with this?

 

[Mini Me]

My view is that router lifts are an old fashioned and out of date idea and using one restricts the full potential of of a router table. I would like to post photos but I do not know how. By mounting the router to the frame the top can be custom made for  a job if need be and simply lifted off and changed if needed and it does not have about 20lbs hanging off it trying to bend it from flat to concave. On top of the structural problems the lifts are expensive and need a fair bit of maintenance to keep one working as it should so I am told as I have never used one. I will post some links later on to show how I do it.

 

[Mini Me]

To add to my post here are some links

This a table we built a few years ago using a CNC water cooled spindle a DRO to measure the height and linear bearing rails with a manual lead screw. The whole thing took less than a day to build it. Speed control is via a VFD on 220V 3 phase and all control is above table including the speed. It has been in use in a WW school since it was built and had zero problems in that time with no maintenance required at all.https://www.woodworkforums.com/f20/router-table-using-linear-rails-lift-227354

This link is a fully automatic touch screen controlled RT. We had to write about 25,000 lines of code to make it work and building one is not for the faint hearted. I put it here to show where I got the idea from for the manual version. The first couple of pages are the original build and after that it is pulled apart and converted to touch screen control using stepper motors and linear rails.https://www.woodworkforums.com/f20/router-table-build-212190?highlight=mandj

This search string has a number of links to a digitally controlled RT but no matter how you look at it the build is challenging without electronic knowledge though the guy who built the first one has done an amazing job on documenting the build right down to wiring diagrams etc, something like a 50+ page PDF. I put all the digital stuff up for interest only.https://www.woodworkforums.com/search.php?searchid=43387315

Two linear rails, a lead screw, a water cooled CNC, one VFD and a DRO get you a bullet proof router table that is so quite you have to turn up you hearing aids!

I used two rails but you can buy an assembly for the lift these days.https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1644509...D5SRkvIOj5IMf_7FJ-6ID-sNqPe_cRNhoCF24QAvD_BwE

 

[Svar]

My view is that router lifts are an old fashioned and out of date idea and using one restricts the full potential of of a router table. I would like to post photos but I do not know how. By mounting the router to the frame the top can be custom made for  a job if need be and simply lifted off and changed if needed and it does not have about 20lbs hanging off it trying to bend it from flat to concave. On top of the structural problems the lifts are expensive and need a fair bit of maintenance to keep one working as it should so I am told as I have never used one. I will post some links later on to show how I do it.

I don't get it. No, there are no structural problems. A properly made table does not bend. No, there is no maintenance to speak of. Then you say router lifts are expensive (not really) and in the post below propose something that costs even more? The slide you link, just one of the components, is $350. This is a price of a complete high quality lift ready to use. So, why bother?
You could attach your store bought lift to a frame instead and have replaceable top, but why? The only improvement I could see is to add tilt, which is what OP mentioned.

 

[Mini Me]

My latest RT has a top that is 16mm thick and can be lifted off in 5 seconds to change it and the spindle tilts if needed. I know it is hard to accept change but this is a change that makes the conventional RT much more versatile in every respect. The Europeans are in the next universe compared to what is happening in the US with RT's.

 

[mino]

My latest RT has a top that is 16mm thick and can be lifted off in 5 seconds to change it and the spindle tilts if needed. I know it is hard to accept change but this is a change that makes the conventional RT much more versatile in every respect. The Europeans are in the next universe compared to what is happening in the US with RT's.

16mm top is really realy cutting it tight. If you have it as-light-as-possible for mobile use, then it makes sense.

E.g. the CMS-style cart I am planning will be made as a shop beast. So the table for the replaceable tops will be from 2 x 18mm birch ply glued for 36mm total with partial torsion box to support it. And it will have a couple concrete slabs screwed to the bottom of the cart it for stability ...

The thing is, in Europe most serious shops use industrial table routers. A good quality one with a 30mm (1"1/8) industrial spindle is $2000 with the high end in the $4000 range. Less than an OF 2200 in a CMS set for a tool that is a league away. Yes, there are 12mm collet adapters for these for small work.

The "lets try make a handheld router into a table router" concept never really took off here in the cabinetry space. And the carpentry, where it makes sense for portability, is dominated by prefab and is overall way more specialised too. Most of carpentry here is just roofs where you have no need for routing. Most builds here are masonry or concrete skeleton with masonry infill.. Wood houses are a minority and even those are prefabs for the most part. So there is no real "freelance contractor" market like in the US over here which would overlap into some cabinetry.

Point being, yeah, different universes with way, way, less overlap between the hobby and the pro markets in Europe compared to the US. In this area at least.

 

[sancho57]

Well, it looks like they actually aren't available, even though they are shown in two different company's websites. Out of stock with no idea when/if they will ever get more.
It looks like if I continue with this plan, I'm going to have to use a 220v motor and get a transformer to step-up to a UK style plug.
There is at least one other motor, but it's only 800 watt and 1/4" (or 6mm) collet. That won't get it.

Anyone have a recommendation for transformers? [member=10147]jobsworth[/member], you came to the US from the UK didn't you? any experience with this?

I went from the US to UK and return. A good freind who was a builder in London gave me his to use. I had some adapters made, it worked just fine. I did buy a used one (yellow) it looked like the one my friend loaned me, but it didnt have the ppower my friends did. So their is a difference in trannys.
wish I could be more help

 

[Crazyraceguy]

The transformer is the biggest thing holding me back on this, also the main reason for looking into the 110v units in the first place. Most of what I seem to be finding is low-quality import, but I'm not looking to spend as much as the motor/lift combo cost either.